Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: don't allow journal...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: don't allow journal inode to have encrypt flag
Mounting a filesystem whose journal inode has the encrypt flag causes a
NULL dereference in fscrypt_limit_io_blocks() when the 'inlinecrypt'
mount option is used.
The problem is that when jbd2_journal_init_inode() calls bmap(), it
eventually finds its way into ext4_iomap_begin(), which calls
fscrypt_limit_io_blocks(). fscrypt_limit_io_blocks() requires that if
the inode is encrypted, then its encryption key must already be set up.
That's not the case here, since the journal inode is never "opened" like
a normal file would be. Hence the crash.
A reproducer is:
mkfs.ext4 -F /dev/vdb
debugfs -w /dev/vdb -R "set_inode_field <8> flags 0x80808"
mount /dev/vdb /mnt -o inlinecrypt
To fix this, make ext4 consider journal inodes with the encrypt flag to
be invalid. (Note, maybe other flags should be rejected on the journal
inode too. For now, this is just the minimal fix for the above issue.)
I've marked this as fixing the commit that introduced the call to
fscrypt_limit_io_blocks(), since that's what made an actual crash start
being possible. But this fix could be applied to any version of ext4
that supports the encrypt feature.
Impact
The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash. Typical impact: denial of service via crash.
CVE-2022-50277 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-50277? CVE-2022-50277 is a medium-severity null pointer dereference vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet. The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash.
- How severe is CVE-2022-50277? CVE-2022-50277 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-50277? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2022-50277 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2022-50277 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-50277 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-50277 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.